Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Jeromaia Detto describes Mush better than anyone when he calls it a kids’ show for adults. Indeed, an actual small child, parents defying the 12+ rating because of the occasional swearing, seemed enchanted by it all.

Like so many of his fellow Gaulier clowns, Detto wants to foster a sense of play in his crowd, regressing us to simpler times through a series of games, heavy on audience participation. Sometimes, he’s pretty clear on the rules; sometimes, we have to figure them out for ourselves. However, he’s prone to move the goalposts, too, just to catch us out.

He starts as a priest hearing our confessions with a delightful replacement for the incense-burning thurible of Catholicism, then becomes a waiter, directed around the space by the volume of our applause. And in a recurring sketch, he is a ‘humble Italian beach boy’, making our acquaintance with a series of dreadful puns on people’s names.

His characters are whimsical and endearing. They are often wordless, using only sounds to communicate, though in one scene he adopts a high-pitched Elmo-style voice to repeatedly gush ‘wow!’, reflecting the Childlike wonder he wants to instil in is all.

There are a couple of lulls, such as his offer to impersonate any item chosen from a gift catalogue, which stumbled under the demands of trying to mimic an air fryer. It’s a rare moment that his expressive face and body – let him down.  Later he proves quite capable of being a fighter plane, noises and all, on his own.

But in play, failure’s OK, and Detto is forgiving of volunteers who make a mistake, only gently teasing them for getting it wrong, and easily able to roll with the punches, course-correcting the show depending on what’s happening in the room.

Other shows may have higher concepts, but Detto’s puckish and silly alter-egos provide uncomplicated fun, easily achieving that sense of play he set out to reach.

Review date: 13 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Underbelly Cowgate